Well Together Project

Fusion Arts was fortunate to work with Well Together Oxfordshire to deliver community-led arts events that promote health and wellbeing in the local community, while reducing inequality through access to knowledge and a shared community space to explore creativity. As part of this series of events, Fusion hosted a variety of different pop-up workshops, drop-in events, and performances with the goal of bringing people together to share experiences, knowledge, and creativity to make Oxford happier and healthier.

Part of our mission at Fusion is to help create a society in which all individuals can lead happy and healthy lives. This is not only done through promoting a balanced diet and daily movement, but also through social justice, access to the arts, and communities coming together.

To kick off our Well Together series, Fusion hosted a drop-in craft session for members of the local community to come and create decorations themed around October holidays, including some much-loved apple-pressing!

Our next event centred around the hidden histories of Oxford’s city centre, as people came together to explore how collective memories can inspire happier, healthier futures for everyone. People were invited to add their own memories to a collaborative tapestry. This event was hosted by Rachel Barbaresi, who led participants on a journey through Oxford’s history via archive photographs as they worked with collage, drawing, projections, and instant photography to montage imaginary scenes, weaving together threads from across time and space to playfully engage with how we, as modern residents of the city, think about Oxford.

We hosted a lantern-making workshop in which participants created all sorts of creatures and shapes as well as crowns using willow branches. Young people and adults alike explored their creativity in an artist-guided workshop where lights and shapes were combined to illuminate a walk through the local area.

To celebrate two years of the Well Together programme, Fusion created a free, drop-in event with displays, food, performances & chat! Community leaders, organisers, and local residents came together to find out more about the deep impact that getting involved in community activities can have on our health and wellbeing.

As part of promoting a well-balanced diet, Fusion hosted a pop-up event on how food can be utilised as medicine in a variety of ways, from homemade balms to herbal teas and immunity tonics. This event also saw the return of apple-pressing as well as an affordable community pop-up food market.